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Archived Postings

June 5, 2006 – June 11, 2006

June 5 to June 11, 2006 The final week of migration monitoring started off great; there were birds migrating! Cedar Waxwings were on the move on the 5th. Small flocks flew past the lab throughout the entire morning, some flocks flying so low they literally buzzed our heads. Almost 600 cedar waxwings were counted by the end of the day, but not one flock flew low enough to be captured in the nets. A disappointment, they are magnificent looking birds. We did, however, capture our first yellow-bellied flycatcher of the year on that day. Yellow-bellied flycatchers, along with alder flycatchers and least flycatchers, belong to the genus Empidonax. All Empidonax flycatchers have similar plumage characteristics, they can be very difficult to identify in hand even with all the morphological tricks that banders have up their sleeves. With alder flycatchers being captured in good numbers, and a few least and yellow-bellied flycatchers thrown in, it was a challenging day of banding. The rest of the week was fairly uneventful, especially with a few rain days. Only 37 birds were banded for the entire week. It was definitely time to admit that migration was over and to switch focus to the birds breeding in the area. In terms of overall banding, the 2006 spring migration was slow. 534 birds were banded, the lowest spring banding total the LSLBO has had since opening in 1994. Rain days during peak migration, which led to the most productive nets becoming inoperable due to flooding during peak migration, played a role in the low banding totals. 40 different species sent representatives into the nets; a good number considering the low banding total. A few species were noticeably absent from the banding totals. We did not capture any blackpoll warblers, swamp sparrows, cedar waxwings, or magnificent frigatebirds (the obscure way of saying that there were no unusual sightings this spring). One notable recapture this spring was a female alder flycatcher that was originally banded by the LSLBO in 2000. This bird is now at least 7 years old. Wintering somewhere in South America, this birds has now made the round trip to the boreal forest at least 7 times. Not bad for a bird that weighs 14 grams. It is the fourth year that the LSLBO has captured her, so at least there is one fan of the LSLBO and the work we do. It is also good to know that at least one bird is doing her best to contribute to the data we collect. Now that the spring migration nets have been closed we are starting the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program and the Canada Warbler Project. These are ongoing projects at the LSLBO that provide information on various breeding aspects of the birds in the area. The week ended with banding at the first MAPS station (we jump straight into the breeding programs after migration monitoring has ended). 14 birds were banded at the RESI station, including the first winter wren banded in 2006. Winter wrens are tiny birds. They compensate their small size with a very feisty attitude. Great looking birds, if you can hang on.

2010